Co-founders Brad Smith and Mike Malchow grew up together in Royal Center, Indiana, fishing the same local water and eventually becoming college roommates. After college, their paths went in very different directions. Brad went into law enforcement while Mike enlisted in the Army and joined the 75th Ranger Regiment, serving for more than a decade and completing multiple deployments to the Middle East. Through all of it, they kept fishing together. ​ Years later, Mike had made his way to Colorado and was working as a fly-fishing guide. During one of Brad's trips west, the two were fishing, sharing a bottle of bourbon and talking about fly rods when the idea came up: Why not build our own? ​ What started as a conversation became sketches, research, prototypes and a lot of time on the water. By 2015, the first Walton fly rod prototypes were ready to fish. Mike put them through their paces guiding trout in Colorado until one design finally became the rod they wanted to put their names behind. There was just one problem...The company still didn't have a name. ​ At the same time the first rods were taking shape, Brad's son, Walton, arrived much earlier than expected at just 30 weeks. During his time in the NICU, Brad and Mike were still tossing around ideas for what to call the company. Eventually someone suggested the obvious answer - Walton. ​ The name stuck. What began with two lifelong friends, a conversation on the water and one fly rod has grown into something much bigger. Today, Walton Rods builds fly, spinning and casting rods for anglers fishing everything from trout streams and farm ponds to big rivers and saltwater. ​ The company has changed. The reason we build rods hasn't. Build good rods. Treat people right. And never forget why we started fishing in the first place.